Participation in the Standards Process Shapes the Industry
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“Standards are one of the most collaborative and scientific things in the industry”- Ben Frank
Benjamin Frank, Ph.D., director, Materials Research and Innovation with Packaging Corporation of America, is an acknowledged packaging expert and an active TAPPI member. The former Chair of the Corrugated Division’s Fiberboard Shipping Container Testing Committee (Fiscotec) as well as the Quality and Standards Management Committee (Q&SMC), he is actively involved in several Standard Specific Interest Groups (SSIGs) as well as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Standards Organization’s Technical Committee 6 (ISO TC 6). He recently shares some insights on a variety of Standards’ topics.
What would you tell people that have never participated in Standards activities?
Jump in! The more people that get involved, the more we can build on what we have, the more likely we are to get Standards correct, and the better off we are in terms of producing Standards that work well.
Even though we all have day jobs, you can be involved with Standards without having to spend hundreds of hours on them. As a Working Group Chair, much of the time spent working totals 3-5 hours. I’m sure we all have places in our calendars to do that.
Get started by simply reading Standards, participating in the process, and voting on whether you feel Standards as written are appropriate. By surfacing problems, and either getting them corrected or putting bounds on where the Standard is valid, we can find opportunities to build new ones, and create fresh ways of identifying, measuring and working with our materials.
Does working with Standards give you a sense of fulfillment?
It’s satisfying knowing we have done it right. The information we gather, the things we learn, and the way we outline a given Standard helps people understand what they’re doing and why.
Standards also help them get right answers. Some people do not realize Standards exist or may be doing testing and not realizing what’s in the Standard. Their results are often different, which brings home the importance of speaking the same language. Those writing Standards invent new words, and people who participate in Working Groups review the Standards, maintaining the dictionary by which we all speak.
Click here to read the full interview.
To learn more about Standards and to join an SSIG, contact standards@tappi.org
